Detroit is a tough city to fly into because seats always seem to be full. Here's the website for the Detroit Airport: http://www.metroairport.com/ . You can take the bus from the airport to downtown (Bus Website: http://www.detroitmetro.com/public-transit/ ). The SMART bus stop is located closer to the terminals, eliminating the need for a terminal shuttle for riders. SMART buses now stop on the outer roadway (lower level) near the Ground Transportation offices at the North Terminal. For a SMART bus schedule call: (866) 962-5515 or visit [[@http://www.smartbus.org |www.smartbus.org ]] or http://www.detroitmetro.com/public-transit/ ). For me, the number one attraction in the Detroit area is the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. You'll need to rent a car if you want to visit the museum. I visited it as a kid, and I was even more impressed to see it again (Websites: http://www.hfmgv.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_Museum ), where you can see Lincoln's seat from Ford's Theatre, George Washington's camp bed from the Revolutionary War, Kennedy's limousine from his assasination, the Rosa Parks' bus, and more. I's impossible not to feel a sense of awe in this remarkable museum. It is worth the visit! Another museum that we visited was the Motown Museum (Websites: http://www.motownmuseum.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motown_Records ). The museum traces the roots of Motown's remarkable story and chronicles its impact on 20th century culture and musical styles. Here's a "Visit Detroit" website with other ideas: http://www.visitdetroit.com/ . We went to a Tigers' game at Comerica Park, which is right next to the Lions' home at Ford Field on the north side of downtown Detroit (Website: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/ballpark/index.jsp ). If you go, take some time before the game to walk around the main concourse, where you can visit the Tigers' Walk of Fame with its historical elements and memorabilia celebrating the Tigers' history. The Detroit Beer Comapny is just steps from the ballpark (Website: http://detroitbeerco.com/ ). It's a good, safe choice for beer and food. The Motor City Brewing Works is more of a taphouse that serves really good pizza (Website: http://www.motorcitybeer.com/ ). Hotwire has good hotel prices for downtown Detroit. Here's a website for Detroit nightlife (Website: http://www.detroit.com/nightlife/ ), where there are Comedy Clubs, Live Local Music, and Dive Bars. Due to our baseball game, we didn't visit any on this trip.
Enjoy!
Jenny Heidel - October 2013:
Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island (Website: http://www.mackinacisland.org/ ) is a favorite Michigan vacation spot. Located in the Straits of Mackinac with a view of the Mackinac Bridge (Website: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ ), travel to the island is by a short ferry ride, either from Mackinaw City (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinaw_City (Lower Peninsula)) or St. Ignace (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ignace,_Michigan (Upper peninsula)). Travel on the island is by horse and carriage or by bicycle. Bicycles can be rented on the island. Biking around the perimeter of the island is a 7 mile trip or you can bike into the interior where there are golf courses, great trails, and a couple of cemeteries dating to the early 1800s. Visitors can also tour the historic fort on the island which played a role in the War of 1812. There are many inns, small hotels, and bed and breakfasts to choose from. We like The Inn at Mackinac, a refurbished inn with a continental breakfast, swimming pool, and a gorgeous wrap around front porch to sit on and relax (Website: http://innonmackinac.com/ ). Mackinac Island is know for its fudge and has several fudge shops to choose from. We visited in October when the fall colors were at their peak, and it was not as crowded.
Returned to Detroit for a weekend of NCAA Basketball. Things have changed in almost four years! We started with The Belt Alley (website:
https://www.thebelt.org/ ). The BELT is a culturally redefined alley in the heart of downtown Detroit. Named for its physical orientation in a former downtown garment district, The BELT is located between Broadway and Library Street and links Gratiot and Grand River. We tried Standby (website: http://www.standbydetroit.com/ ) with a nice selection of cocktails and small plates. If you're looking for a solid breakfast/brunch, head over to the Dime Store. Hours are from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It's just off the atrium-lit lobby of the Chrysler House, 1912 neo-classical skyscraper formerly called the Dime Building at 719 Griswold St (Website: http://www.eatdimestore.com/ ). There's about 75 seats under 1970's light fixtures. East-facing windows offer expansive street views. Afterward, head across the lobby to Bon Bon Bon (website: https://bonbonbon.com/ ) some chocolate. Then take a walk down the block to the Guardian Building, and it's art deco interior (website: http://guardianbuilding.com/ ). When it's time for dinner check out Supino Pizzeria (website: https://www.supinopizzeria.com/ ), which has windows that face the Eastern Market (website: https://www.easternmarket.org/ ). You can also walk the Dequindre Cut (website:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Detroit,_Michigan
Detroit Downtown Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Detroit/Downtown
Dearborn, MI Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Dearborn
Mackinac Island Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Mackinac_Island
Upper Peninsula Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Upper_Peninsula_(Michigan)
Mike Summers - August 2012:
Detroit is a tough city to fly into because seats always seem to be full. Here's the website for the Detroit Airport: http://www.metroairport.com/ . You can take the bus from the airport to downtown (Bus Website:
http://www.detroitmetro.com/public-transit/ ). The SMART bus stop is located closer to the terminals, eliminating the need for a terminal shuttle for riders. SMART buses now stop on the outer roadway (lower level) near the Ground Transportation offices at the North Terminal. For a SMART bus schedule call: (866) 962-5515 or visit [[@http://www.smartbus.org |www.smartbus.org ]] or http://www.detroitmetro.com/public-transit/ ). For me, the number one attraction in the Detroit area is the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. You'll need to rent a car if you want to visit the museum. I visited it as a kid, and I was even more impressed to see it again (Websites: http://www.hfmgv.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford_Museum ), where you can see Lincoln's seat from Ford's Theatre, George Washington's camp bed from the Revolutionary War, Kennedy's limousine from his assasination, the Rosa Parks' bus, and more. I's impossible not to feel a sense of awe in this remarkable museum. It is worth the visit! Another museum that we visited was the Motown Museum (Websites: http://www.motownmuseum.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motown_Records ). The museum traces the roots of Motown's remarkable story and chronicles its impact on 20th century culture and musical styles. Here's a "Visit Detroit" website with other ideas: http://www.visitdetroit.com/ . We went to a Tigers' game at Comerica Park, which is right next to the Lions' home at Ford Field on the north side of downtown Detroit (Website: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/det/ballpark/index.jsp ). If you go, take some time before the game to walk around the main concourse, where you can visit the Tigers' Walk of Fame with its historical elements and memorabilia celebrating the Tigers' history. The Detroit Beer Comapny is just steps from the ballpark (Website: http://detroitbeerco.com/ ). It's a good, safe choice for beer and food. The Motor City Brewing Works is more of a taphouse that serves really good pizza (Website: http://www.motorcitybeer.com/ ). Hotwire has good hotel prices for downtown Detroit. Here's a website for Detroit nightlife (Website: http://www.detroit.com/nightlife/ ), where there are Comedy Clubs, Live Local Music, and Dive Bars. Due to our baseball game, we didn't visit any on this trip.
Enjoy!
Jenny Heidel - October 2013:
Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island (Website: http://www.mackinacisland.org/ ) is a favorite Michigan vacation spot. Located in the Straits of Mackinac with a view of the Mackinac Bridge (Website: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ ), travel to the island is by a short ferry ride, either from Mackinaw City (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinaw_City (Lower Peninsula)) or St. Ignace (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ignace,_Michigan (Upper peninsula)). Travel on the island is by horse and carriage or by bicycle. Bicycles can be rented on the island. Biking around the perimeter of the island is a 7 mile trip or you can bike into the interior where there are golf courses, great trails, and a couple of cemeteries dating to the early 1800s. Visitors can also tour the historic fort on the island which played a role in the War of 1812. There are many inns, small hotels, and bed and breakfasts to choose from. We like The Inn at Mackinac, a refurbished inn with a continental breakfast, swimming pool, and a gorgeous wrap around front porch to sit on and relax (Website: http://innonmackinac.com/ ). Mackinac Island is know for its fudge and has several fudge shops to choose from. We visited in October when the fall colors were at their peak, and it was not as crowded.
Mike Summers - September 2014:
We went to Detroit so that we could watch a Tigers Baseball game and drive to Toronto to watch a Blue Jays Baseball game. We found a couple of nice places to eat by Tiger Stadium and Ford Field. Our number one choice was the Detroit Brewing Company (Website:
http://detroitbeerco.com/ ) where the blackened catfish and the shrimp Po'boy were excellent. The Hockeytown Café was also excellent (Website:
http://www.hockeytowncafe.com/ ) with almost twenty beers on tap and an excellent Italian Panini. A favorite game day restaurant seems to be the Elwood Bar and Grill just across the street from Comerica Park (Website: http://elwoodgrill.com/ ). The restored Art Deco restaurant is a hit with locals before the ball game. We also used Detroit as a jump off for our four hour drive to Toronto. Count on some minor traffic back ups as you cross the Ambassador Bridge into Canada (don't forget your passports). We took the 401 Highway to Toronto. Along the route it varies from four to six to eight to fourteen lanes in width. Near Toronto the 401 is the busiest highway in the world (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_401 ). Since we had been to Niagara Falls before, we skipped heading there along the Detroit to Toronto leg. Yonge Street is the gathering place for tourists in Toronto (Websites: http://wikitravel.org/en/Toronto/Yonge_Street
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/Canada/Province_of_Ontario/Toronto-903418/Things_To_Do-Toronto-Yonge_Street-BR-1.html )with a Times Square feeling to it. The Hockey Hall of Fame is on Yonge Street (Website: http://www.hhof.com/ ) and a great place to visit. There are plenty of places to eat in Toronto and near the Rogers Centre, which is home of the Toronto Blue Jays (Website of Restaurants near Rogers Centre:
http://www.10best.com/destinations/canada/toronto/restaurants/restaurants-near-rogers-centre/ ). Toronto is a beautiful city with many glass condominiums and soaring buildings. We were pleasantly surprised with our experience and will definitely return.
Mike Summers - March 2018:
Returned to Detroit for a weekend of NCAA Basketball. Things have changed in almost four years! We started with The Belt Alley (website:
https://www.thebelt.org/ ). The BELT is a culturally redefined alley in the heart of downtown Detroit. Named for its physical orientation in a former downtown garment district, The BELT is located between Broadway and Library Street and links Gratiot and Grand River. We tried Standby (website: http://www.standbydetroit.com/ ) with a nice selection of cocktails and small plates. If you're looking for a solid breakfast/brunch, head over to the Dime Store. Hours are from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It's just off the atrium-lit lobby of the Chrysler House, 1912 neo-classical skyscraper formerly called the Dime Building at 719 Griswold St (Website: http://www.eatdimestore.com/ ). There's about 75 seats under 1970's light fixtures. East-facing windows offer expansive street views. Afterward, head across the lobby to Bon Bon Bon (website: https://bonbonbon.com/ ) some chocolate. Then take a walk down the block to the Guardian Building, and it's art deco interior (website: http://guardianbuilding.com/ ). When it's time for dinner check out Supino Pizzeria (website: https://www.supinopizzeria.com/ ), which has windows that face the Eastern Market (website: https://www.easternmarket.org/ ). You can also walk the Dequindre Cut (website:
http://www.detroitriverfront.org/riverfront/dequindre-cut/dequindre-cut ), which is a recreational toward the Detroit River. The next day we tried Selden Standard (website: http://www.seldenstandard.com/ ) at 3921 Second Ave. It's a bit on the pricey side, but the food is excellent!Enjoy Detroit!